Professor Dr. Ulrike Detmers donates Philosopher’s Prize on the 400th Birthday of Elisabeth of Bohemia (1618-1680) 

Professor Dr. Ulrike Detmers, sponsor of several prizes in support of women’s achievements, partner of the Mestemacher Group and Professor at the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences, is donating the “Elisabeth of Bohemia Prize,” endowed with 3,000 euros, to celebrate the 400th birthday of the philosopher Elisabeth of Bohemia on 26 December 2018.

In 2018 this prize was first awarded to Professor Lisa Shapiro of Simon Fraser University, Canada for her work on Elisabeth of Bohemia. Beginning 2019, it will be awarded by the “Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists” at the University of Paderborn during the Libori Summer School 2019.

The prize is awarded to an outstanding contemporary philosopher in memory of Elisabeth of Bohemia (1618-1680). She was the eldest daughter of Prince Friedrich V. of the Palatinate and his wife Elisabeth Stuart, a granddaughter of Maria Stuart. In her time Elisabeth of Bohemia was also a well-known European intellectual and pupil of Descartes. “I have been fighting for many years to ensure that women get the place in society that they deserve,” says Professor Ulrike Detmers. “It is important to raise awareness about women in the history of philosophy and thereby to revitalize the relevance of the philosophical discipline.”

This prize is intended to acknowledge the internationally known scholar whose work best preserves the memory of women in philosophy. “The awareness that women have contributed to the  philosophical tradition is not very common. But it is important to celebrate our knowledge that women of past centuries were active philosophers who raised their voices and have been heard in former times,” explains Professor Ruth Hagengruber, Ph.D., director of the Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists.

“The Hannah Arendt Prize is awarded for political thought and activism. The Prix Simone de Beauvoir is awarded for activism supporting gender equality and human rights. The Center for the History of Women Philosophers and Scientists is pleased and proud to join with Professor Detmers in awarding a prize that explicitely honors scholars whose work best acknowledges the contributions of women philosophers in history,” says Professor Ruth Hagengruber.